Relatives fear for forgotten war wounded

Soldiers speak out as evidence points to high levels of mental and physical injuries in Iraq conflict

Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday November 28, 2004
The Observer



Nearly 3,000 British soldiers have been evacuated from Iraq to Britain for medical reasons since the beginning of hostilities there last year, The Observer can reveal.
The news will raise concern that the true cost of the British involvement in the war is being hidden. British forces have so far suffered 74 fatalities, details of which are released by the Ministry of Defence. But, in contrast with the Americans, the number of British soldiers wounded on the battlefield is not made public. Modern medical techniques and the widespread use of body armour mean around six men are wounded for every one killed.

The total of troops 'medically evacuated' from the Gulf - 2,754 since 1 March last year - includes soldiers with serious injuries and severe psychological disorders. The latest figures from the MoD show that 461 soldiers deployed in Iraq have been treated for mental health problems, 50 of whom were diagnosed as suffering from serious post-traumatic stress disorders. At least 12 have lost one or more limbs and scores more have suffered permanent harm from traumatic brain injuries or wounds that damage organs or the spine.

Serving soldiers cannot talk to the press, but one seriously injured infantryman's father told The Observer that men such as his son, who had had much of one leg shot away, risked being 'forgotten'.

'No one is talking about those who have been disabled for life. War cripples healthy young men and we should remember that,' he said.

MoD figures reveal that more than 80 servicemen have been discharged from the forces for medical reasons since the start of the conflict. Many more are undergoing treatment within the army system, some with terrible injuries.

They include two infantrymen with the Black Watch battle group controversially deployed to assist in the US assault on Falluja. The men had their legs amputated after being caught in a suicide bomb attack last month. In one deployment during the summer a single unit, the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, sustained more than 110 casual ties in a six-month tour, around half from enemy action.

Trooper Andy Julien of the Queen's Royal Lancers was left with appalling injuries when his tank was hit by friendly fire in Basra last year. Both his legs were crushed and brain injuries left him blind. After a string of operations, Julien, 19, has regained some of his sight but still cannot walk properly.

'I could cry when I look at the photographs taken at his passing out parade. The son that my husband and I had then is not the son we have now,' Julien's mother said.

'Before this he was a fit, energetic, popular boy, who loved sport. He was always laughing, joking and happy, but now it's rare to get a smile out of him. If he hears about Iraq, he gets so upset he cries.'

Specialists say the conditions in Iraq make psychological injury a high risk. The knowledge that the war is controversial in Britain can undermine soldiers' faith in the justification of taking lives and low-intensity counter-insurgency operations can be more damaging than more conventional combat because the enemy is often indistinguishable from civilians.

There are concerns that the numbers of soldiers with mental health injuries will rise sharply over the coming years. 'We are seeing the tip of the iceberg,' said Toby Elliott, chief executive of Combat Stress, which has registered more than 500 new cases of post-traumatic stress disorder in the last year. 'Some people suffer for decades without seeking help.'

Elliott said his organisation was concerned that many servicemen suffering from post-traumatic stress would discharge themselves from the forces without their condition being spotted by the military. 'That means they leave without care and without anyone aware of their injury,' Elliott said.

Some casualties are taking legal action. One soldier who suffered serious injuries when a US tank transporter rammed her vehicle in Iraq is suing the American military. The £1.2 million claim made by Corporal Jane McLauchlan, 33 - along with two other soldiers from the Royal Military Police and an interpreter - is believed to be the first brought by coalition troops against the US Army since the invasion of Iraq.

McLauchlan, who is still in the army, suffered multiple skull fractures, a fractured neck, a punctured lung, a broken leg, ribs and pelvis and a damaged liver when she was thrown from the marked Land Rover in the crash on 7 May last year. 'She has gone from being a fully operational military policeman to being a clerk,' her lawyer said last week. Last year 1,669 servicemen were 'medically downgraded' like McLauchlan, 468 following battlefield injuries and 140 because of mental and behavioural disorders.

Jerome Church, director of the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association (Blesma) said wounded soldiers received less attention today than previously. 'If someone was injured in Northern Ireland or the Falklands it was on the evening news. You at least had a press release,' he said. 'These days you don't hear about it. Iraq is not as dramatic as the Falklands. It is just a running sore.'

A spokesman for the MoD said: 'At the moment it is not meaningful to issue statistics [for wounded] because of the difficulty of classifying an injury.'